Acetone, Your DIY Best Friend

     If you like DIY projects, you probably have a few dried paint specks, some spilled superglue, or maybe you want to reuse/repurpose an old container covered in writing. Or maybe you're just a normal girl and have spilled nail polish on carpet or drippy hair dye stains. Acetone is your one-stop-shop for all of these.

     When we first moved I went on a painting binge. When it comes to painting a room, I'm sooooo over it. I have painted every single home, apartment and studio where I've ever lived or worked. I just rush through as fast as possible. I would rather steady myself than tape and I'd rather be careful than put down drop cloths. In my bathrooms I ran into a bit of an issue with light colored roller spray specks on dark vinyl flooring. I bought latex paint remover and had zero luck with it, unless you consider having your hands smell like benzene for a week a success. I tried scraping it but there were so many speckles I'd just give up and then in a few months try again only to get frustrated and give up again. One day I was sitting on my bathroom floor and I'd just taken off my toenail polish and thought, 'why not try acetone on those pesky old paint specks?' 

Lo and behold IT WORKED!

     That little bit of success got me going and I've been using acetone on everything ever since. I had some spots on my carpet where I'd spilled a few drops of acrylic sealer when my son and I did a painting together. I soaked a cotton ball with acetone and worked it into the dried sealer for a few seconds. Boom! Gone. Brown hair dye on my fabric shower curtain? Gone. Superglue on my favorite kitchen rug. Gone. Ink on my jeans. Gone. You get the picture.

    I even used it on a jar I plan to reuse for later.

Before: Now you see it...

After: ...now you don't!

      A word of caution, don't be stupid. This stuff takes off paint and dye so it's probably a good idea to do a patch test on a small area before ruining something worse than it already is.
     Good luck!

Removing Stickers From Laundry Made Easy

     I always say I don't like cleaning, I just like a clean house. That's not entirely true. I love when I'm faced with a challenge and I ace it. Cleaning offers many such challenges. Oh, I know it's not the same type of challenges faced by a brain surgeon or a special education teacher, but this is my job and I like it and I'm good at it.

      Something that really ticks me off is pulling something out of the dryer expecting it to be clean, only to find that it's got a set in stain. The only thing worse than that is finding something was left in a pocket (like a crayon or pack of gum!) or a sticker was left on a shirt. If you've been there you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't had this happen to you, take notes, because I can't find anything online that really works, so I came up with a solution of my own. 

     Before trying this, know it may damage your clothes. I have had great success with cotton tee shirts but I can say with almost 100% certainty this shouldn't be tried on anything like silk or suede. 

     Step 1) If you find it when it comes out of the dryer, try to wet it and pick off as much of the paper as you can to expose the adhesive. If you're lucky enough to catch it as it comes out of the wash, pick off the paper and set it out to air dry.

Before: Sticker residue on red stripe above "ND"

Step 2) Place something non porous under the stain, like a plate or a plastic Tupperware lid. This way none of the stain or liquids used to treat the stain, will transfer to the back of the shirt or whatever you're working on.
  
Step 3) Once the adhesive is exposed and dry, carefully spray the spot only with WD-40. Let it sit about 5 minutes or so. Grab a paper towel and start to work it off. Start by scraping and see how much you can remove this way. Next, you can rub it in a circular motion and it'll usually ball up and wipe away.
*Depending on how stubborn or how thick the adhesive, you may have to repeat this step.

The Dynamic Duo!

     Step 4) Here's the second half of the one-two punch. Grandma's Secret Spot Remover. You can find this in the laundry section of most department stores and the fabric cutting section of Hobby Lobby.
     Immediately after removing adhesive, cover the WD-40 spot with Grandma's Secret Spot Remover. Let it soak in about 30 minutes, you can even work it in with your fingers or a brush.

     Step 5) Wash immediately. Let it air dry, so you won't set in the stain with the dryer. Check to see if this took out the WD-40, if not, you may need to repeat steps 4 & 5.



When I was taking pictures for this post I must have been distracted by everything I had going on on Laundry Day and I forgot to take a before of the cat shirt.  Don't let that deter you from trying. I used this on both of these shirts with total success and on a Polo shirt as well. I would've never tried it on a Polo if it hadn't worked on the others. If you're worried about ruining your clothes from using these two products on it, consider the fact that you really have nothing to lose. Are you really going to use it with a big grubby sticker stain on it?

After: Sticker was over upper right cat's nose and mouth

After: Sticker was on red stripe above "ND"

What's Ridge Filler?

Essie Fill The Gap
Ridge Filler Base Coat

     There will come a day, probably when you are over 30, you will glance down at your hands, probably when you are driving, and you won't recognize them. You may say to yourself, "Self, why is a gnarled old witch resting her hands where yours should be?"

     Then you will realize these are your hands.

     Then you will sigh.

     Sometime when you're not looking, and you're just living your life as usual, your hands will start to age. As I always say, the train's left the station and it doesn't go in reverse! Moisturizer helps, but the dead giveaway is the nails. Kind of like an old woman who'd had a facelift but forgot about her turkey neck. I've tried filing them smooth and all that does is (hurt!) damage the nail. So while I was on my chronic quest for the perfect shade of pale pink, I came across Essie's Fill the Gap ridge filler. I was really pleased with the results. It didn't turn back the clock all the way to 1993, but it helps. It helps.

Before, ridgy old lady nail

After, smooth, ridge free nail (with dry cuticles;)

                                                

                                                                With Fill The Gap ridge filler and 2 coats polish, Essie Mod Squad

Kerastase Review

     About a year ago I got a spa gift certificate for Mother's Day. The girl who did my conditioning treatment asked me what I was looking for and I said, "I want Kate Middleton's hair". She snorted and said, "Don't we all?! Keep dreaming!" I resisted the urge to get up and walk over to another stylist's chair and the more I thought about it the more I fumed. First of all, I thought it was pretty unprofessional. Secondly, why CAN'T I have Kate Middleton's hair? I have long brown hair, she has long brown hair. What's so crazy about thinking I could get my hair to look as shiny as hers?
   
     Ask any girl over the age of five about her hair and she'll talk your leg off, so I'll spare you all of that. I'm no stylist so I can't describe my texture in specific terms. All I know is, it's straight if you blow it dry but sort of wavy and frizzy if it air dries. It used to be super thick but as I've gotten older it's not as thick but I wouldn't really call it thin or fine. It really resists curl, but with some work, it's possible.

     I've been off sulfates and using Organix brand shampoos for a couple years now. I love the smell, the texture they gave my hair and the price is great, especially if you can find the '50% more free' bottles or on sale for BOGO or--the holy grail--both! I have tried almost all the different formulas and the Moroccan Argan was my favorite.  I was also rinsing with a 50/50 mix of water and apple cider vinegar after conditioner. Organix has a matching serum I'd use on my length and ends while it was still wet. I'd follow all that with a Redken heat protectant allover before turning upside down to blowdry with a brush.

The picture below is the former regimen.

Before Kerastase

This is after my new one!

After Kerastase

Here they are side by side.

     I was expecting a difference, but not like that! There's a bit of a glare on the before photo but it's still accurate. My hair was straight, soft and healthy looking before but NOW it's like shampoo commercial hair! My best friend is a hair stylist and since I've moved I only get to see her every few weeks. As soon as she saw me after the switch, the first words out of her mouth were "Wow! Your hair is the shiniest I've ever seen it and no flyaways!" That's a pretty awesome compliment from somebody who's known me for about 30 years and does hair for a living!

     Here's how I got here. I started googling Kate Middleton's hair. I would do specific searches like "what hair products does kate middleton use". There are tons of blog posts and articles speculating what she uses but there was one from the Daily Mail online that looked legit so I started searching using the items I found in the article and did some research on them specifically. I also found out that you can find these products cheaper than at a certified salon but they could be outdated or even counterfeit. I had no idea there was such a thing as cosmetic counterfeit! I bought the shampoo at the grocery store for about $5 less than online or at a salon. I also came across a shopping miracle. I was in Target, just killing time, and walked past an end cap and spotted two bottles on the shelf with markdown tags for $10!! After reading up, I realize these may be outdated but I'm using them and I'm happy with them. So my gamble paid off this time.  

Kerastase Bain Satin 2,
daily shampoo for dry hair

     I did a ton of research. A TON. And figured out that the Kerastase Nutritive Masqueintense that costs $60 is an almost ingredient for ingredient twin to L'Oreal Nature's Therapy Mega Moisture Nurturing Creme sold at Sally Beauty Supply for $8 for the same sized tub. When I say twin, I mean there might be one or two ingredients out of order. It's close enough that I'd bet a die-hard Kerastase user couldn't tell the difference. I try to use this as a hair mask about once a week. 

L'Oreal Nature's Therapy Moisturizing Creme Mega Moisture,
hair mask

     At Christmas, I treated myself to the conditioner, serum and the heat protectant listed in the article. The protectant also came from the grocery store shelf rather than a licensed salon but again, I'm pretty happy with it. I also recently bought a new hairdryer. It's got ions, tourmaline and lots of other fancy sounding stuff. It was $30 at Ulta. 

Kerastase Lait Vital,
daily conditioner

Kerastase Cristalliste Lumiere Liquide,
lightweight serum for straight or fine hair

Revlon 1875W Hair Dryer with retractable cord Fold & Go
This dryer came with a diffuser (not pictured) and a concentrator

Coppola Keratin Complex Infusion Therapy,
heat protectant

     The last piece of the puzzle is the brush. I believe this is the most valuable part of the whole routine. I had heard about Mason Pearson brushes and how they're known to be the Rolls Royce of hairbrushes. Is this post starting to remind anyone else of this?

 

Anyway, I'd heard the Sonia Kashuk brush from Target is supposed to be the best dupe of the famous MP. I've never owned the original but I was super impressed by the Sonia Kashuk brush. I just wished it was bigger. I was in Sally Beauty Supply one day and found one! It's by Beautique and I absolutely love it. I travel a lot due to my child visitation schedule, so I keep the Target brush at my mom's and use the Beautique every day. It's a great detangler and after you get used to it, it feels great on your scalp. It also doesn't pull out my hair unless I have a tangle--which is also rare with these products. When I used a vent brush it was always FULL of hair and I could hear them pop or snap when I used it. I thought that was just how brushes were. These two brushes proved me wrong.

Beautique Premium Boar Nylon Cushion Brush

Sonia Kashuk hairbrush

One last thing. I haven't yet sprung for the MP brush but I splurged on their rake style comb because I'd read that there was practically zero drag/resistance with it. It's true. the teeth are hand polished and I rarely ever find a hair in there and I only use it when my hair is wet.

  

Mason Pearson Rake style Comb

     So here's the basic rundown.   

     Every-Other-Daily:

     Shampoo: Kerastase Bain Satin 2 $39 (rinse)
     Conditioner: Kerastase Lait Vital $42 (leave in 2-3 minutes and rinse)
     Comb through conditioner with Mason Pearson Rake Style Comb $30
     Serum: Kerastase Cristalliste Lumiere Liquide $42 (I use 1 pump for my ends)
     Heat Portectant: Coppola Keratin Complex Infusion $32 (I use about 10 pumps for all my hair)
     Comb products through hair with MP Rake
     "Rough dry" hair with 1875W Retractable Cord Fold & Go Hair Dryer $30
     Use concentrator on dryer and brush straight with Beautique Premium Boar Nylon Cushion Brush $10
     
     Once-a-Week:
     Before shampooing, comb through dry hair and let sit for 20 minutes L'oreal Nature's Therapy Mega 
     Moisture Nurturing Cream $8. 


Here are a couple photos the day after washing. I used a bit of homemade dry shampoo on my part, crown and along my hairline around my face.  I rolled my hair with Caruso Professional Ion Steam Hairsetter $40, and sprayed with a light mist of L'Oreal Elnett Hairspray Extra Strong Hold Unscented $14. I've owned a Caruso setter since the early nineties, and just had to replace it last year. I'd never use anything else to set my hair. It uses steam heat for moisture rather than dry heat and the curls really last!

Kerastase, day 2 hair with curls

another view of curls

L'Oreal Elnett Hairspray
Extra Strong Hold, Unscented

Caruso Professional Ion Steam Hairsetter

Here's day 3 hair as soon as I woke up (read: no makeup). I brushed with the Beautique brush and it still looks pretty good, but usually on day 3 I either wash again or I pull my hair into a ponytail or topknot or side bun or something fun but pulled back so you can't see the greasy roots.

I'm a stomach sleeper, hence the puffy face and eye bags.

And there you have it. Kate Middleton hair, for us non-royals. Take that, Snarky Spa Stylist Lady!

The Products

The Tools

*UPDATE: Since I've been using this routine and these tools I have noticed a significant drop in how many hairs I lose when I wash and style my hair. I can't help but think it's mostly the tools. I just washed my hair and cleaned my brushes and I actually saved the hairs I found in the tub, on my hands and arms and in the brush after I was done. I counted 8 go down the drain as I rinsed out my conditioner, and what I collected added up to 39 hairs! Most of those were less than 4" long, so I'm assuming that's breakage and not loss. I have also noticed a ton of new growth around my hairline and crown. Lots of 3" and 4" long baby hairs. Every time I'd wash my hair before I'd have a large quarter sized knot of hairs in the tub, not to mention what was in my brush. Look what it is now!

31 hairs found in tub.

This was wound up about as big as a nickel. I usually brush my hair before bed and when I wake up. This morning I didn't. So, this doesn't include the ones that fell out the last 2 days and ended up all over the house, my clothes and car... This is all I've shed due to washing and styling. Pretty awesome!

P.S. I've been taking 10,000 mcg of biotin daily for over a year. I think it helps strengthen my hair but it didn't save it from being yanked out by my old brush and comb. It has, however, significantly improved the strength of my nails and stopped them from peeling.

Paleo Butter Candies

     When I was a little girl, our whole huge family would get together for Sunday dinner after church and holiday dinners at my Aunt Lena's house. As the youngest cousin, I'm a good 10 years or more junior than practically everybody. This meant my teenaged cousins didn't know I existed. They'd be off listening to music and talking about whatever teenagers give a crap about and I'd sneak off, undetected, to the empty dining room. The men were in the living room with football and the women would be in the kitchen with Butterball.

It wouldn't be until we all sat down to eat that they'd find my tiny fingerprints in the margarine tub.

      My love of all things butter flavored has never waned. That's why I knew I struck gold with this recipe.

Sweet. Creamy. Delicious gold.

   
     I just came across this recipe from Empowered Sustenence last night on Pinterest and had to try it but, of course, I had to tinker. If you know me, you know I can't leave anything alone. This time I gambled and won. I added vanilla and lemon extracts and it's almost, but not quite, lemon frosting. Imagine lemon frosting but instead of heavy and cloyingly sweet with sugar, it's rich and unctuous.

Yeah. Unctuous. I said it.
   
If you are craving something sweet, but not too sweet, this is your new go-to treat. They were super simple to make, didn't take long and...satisfying. Most sweets make you crave more but these are oddly satisfying. I'm guessing it has to do with the fat.

Without further ado,

                                          Paleo Butter Candies

1 block (8 oz) Kerrygold butter, softened (any brand grassfed butter will do)
3 tablespoons honey (raw and local if you can swing it)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract (the good kind)
1/4 teaspoon lemon extract (again, don't waste calories on cheap junk)
generous pinch sea salt (1/8 teaspoonish)

Cream butter with mixer or immersion blender, add other ingredients and combine well.

Spoon into sandwich bag, or pastry bag fitted with a tip--if you're fancy. Clip corner of sandwich bag, if you're going that route. Squeeze (or pipe, Fancy Nancy) button-sized drops of the mixture onto a sheet of waxed paper or a silpat sheet. Place candies in fridge to set up, about a half hour.

Pop them off the sheet and into a covered storage bowl and keep in fridge...or gobble down immediately.

Up to you.

A commenter on the original blog post mentioned using cocoa powder for chocolate candies. My next batch will definitely be chocolate! Maybe even chocolate with raspberry extract! The variations are endless and my love of butter is deep.

*A word of caution, butter absorbs odors, so be sure to keep these babies covered or they won't be as tasty. Unless you like garlic lemon honey butter salmon candies. I don't judge.
   

Paleo Golden Mushroom Soup

     I always hesitate to call any recipe "paleo" for two reasons.

Reason 1: Some people see "paleo" and read "weird" and automatically dismiss it.

Reason 2: Some extreme paleo eater's head explodes because it contains an ingredient they would rather choke on than eat.

     This recipe is so yummy I think anyone who likes chicken, mushrooms and soup will enjoy it. So I'm posting it and you can call it whatever you like!

 I started with two bags of my homemade broth. I used turkey, but if I'd had chicken I would've used that. If you don't have homemade, storebought is perfectly okay.

I also put in two frozen, boneless, skinless chicken tenders.You can add probably two more before it's a 

not-enough-soup-too-much-stuff situation. I know chicken isn't a typical ingredient in golden mushroom soup but I thought I'd add a bit more tasty animal protein.

That piece of chicken looks like a tadpole! Appetizing, huh?

   

While the broth was melting, I sliced some onion (I had red on hand but a yellow one would be tasty too). I also chopped and added about half of a 16 ounce box of crimini mushrooms (washed and stems removed). Again, substitutes are okay. Any old non-hallucinogenic 'shroom will do.

About now, I seasoned the broth. I added soy sauce (you can sub coconut aminos), poultry seasoning, salt, garlic powder and rice vinegar. I used rice vinegar because it's light, but I think any vinegar other than balsamic would taste okay.

I let it go about five minutes or so and I removed the chicken and diced it up. I also removed that little nasty tendon that's always still attached to the bigger end. Don't you just hate that when you get served one of those in a restaurant? I always want to take it to the chef and show him how to pull it off. It takes like a whole second to do. Okay, tenderloin rant over...for now.

Looks like tofu but I promise it's not.

I let the whole deal cook down about 15 minutes until the veggies were good and soft. I finished it off with a tablespoon of good old Kerrygold butter and let it melt before serving it up. You could totally puree and serve this that way as well.

Mmmmmm!

 Here's the breakdown:

Paleo Golden Mushroom Soup

3 cups chicken or turkey broth

2 boneless skinless chicken breast tenderloins (or one small whole breast)

1/4 cup sliced or chopped onion

8 oz of stemmed, cleaned, sliced mushrooms

1/4 cup soy sauce (or coconut aminos)

                                                      1 teaspoon light vinegar

                                                      1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

                                                      1/2 teaspoon sea salt

                                                      1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

                                                      1 tablespoon butter

Place broth and chicken in pot over low-medium heat. Prepare vegetables and add to pot. Remove chicken and dice into fine pieces. Add in soy sauce, vinegar and spices. Cook an additional 15 minutes. Just before serving, melt a tablespoon of butter in the whole pot.

Paleo Taco Sauce

     As a (mostly) paleo household, we allow ourselves a few non-paleo meals per week. Three meals, to be exact. I am always looking for ways to paleo-fy those meals if possible, or at least as much as I can. Every Tuesday is "Taco Tuesday". We go back and forth on whether we have tacos or fajitas or enchiladas, you get the idea. Sometimes we go full on pigfest with cheddar cheese, corn tortilla chips, flour tortillas, crunchy corn taco shells, etc. Sometimes, we behave ourselves and have taco salad or use lettuce for taco shells. Even if we eat the non-paleo stuff, we still try to eat whole/clean foods. Our last regular grocery store holdout was Ortega taco sauce. We ate half an 8 oz bottle between the three of us, once a week! 

     My husband and I were both raised on the Standard American Diet and Ortega taco sauce was a household staple of my childhood. The three of us can't have taco night without it. Sadly, the third ingredient listed on the label is corn syrup. Corn syrup is a major no-no when it comes to eating clean. It also contains cornstarch which is not caveman approved. So I set out to come up with a recipe for taco sauce that tastes as good as (and similar to) Ortega taco sauce but is made from natural ingredients.

Behold! Here it is.

 Start with organic tomato paste plus 3 cans water (18 oz)

Add salt, dehydrated minced onion, chili powder, cumin, paprika and garlic powder.

Next, whisk in white vinegar and honey. Add crushed red pepper flake or cayenne pepper to taste. Bring to a boil in a medium saucepan. Cover and reduce to medium-low heat and cook for 15 minutes.

Cool and pour into jar to be stored in fridge.

This is actually what was left after tonight's taco feast!

Paleo Taco Sauce

6oz can organic tomato paste

18 oz water

2 teaspoons minced dehydrated onion

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 teaspoon mild honey (local is best)

1/8 teaspoon (pinch) crushed red pepper flake or cayenne pepper

Whisk together all ingredients. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium-low heat and cover. Cook 15 minutes. Cool before storing in a glass container in fridge. Makes about 16 ounces.

*Feel free to add more or less of anything to taste, but be sure to maintain the cooking time to reduce the sauce and marry the flavors.